Keel problems Islander Excalabur 26

[rts23]

I got an excalabur a few years back. It had been sitting in a cradle the former owner had some health issues and the drains in the cockpit area clogged up. The water built up and poured into the cabin area filled it right up. He was able to pump all the water out but he just wanted the boat gone. I cleaned it up and launched the boat the next spring. Powered the boat from Sodus Bay to Oswego then down the Erie canal system to Seneca lake in the finger lakes area. We stepped the mast and sailed the rest of the summer. As the local marina was putting the boat back in the water this year they told me I have a wobbly keel and that I shouldn't put her under sail. I was told by a few long time sailors thet there should be keel bolts and to check there condition. I look in the inspection ports and I don't see any bolts it looks like the keel is just molded in the fiberglass. The ports are pretty small and the bolts might be out of sight. Any ideas what I can do to fix the keel if there are no bolts?
Thanks in advance.

[CalebD]

I hope you are able to find some keel bolts in the bilge to check out and tighten (or replace).
I know that some manufacturers built the same model boats (Tartan 27' for example) with keel bolts some years and with an enclosed ballast in other years. On my boat there are no keel bolts so the ballast is enclosed in the keel by fiberglass.
If it is an enclosed ballast in the keel then the 'enclosure' needs to be repaired or completely re-done which does not sound like a quick and easy job.
I would agree with your boat yard though. If the keel is wobbling now it would be pretty disasterous if the keel fell of while you were sailing it. It would be bad even if you were just motoring.
Keel bolts could also be covered by some FRP.
Is there an Islander 26' owners group somewhere out on the web?
Best of luck.

[rts23]

I found out through more research that there are quite a few of the early fiberglass sailboats ie, cal 25's have the same keel build. I was considering putting a poly foam into the keel up to the bottom of the floor to reinforce the keel but a lot of people i've talked to think this will make the keel to brittle and won't flex as it was designed. Anyone got any other ideas?

[tweitz]

We had a 1967 Excalibur 26 many years ago and it also developed a wobbly keel. We priced reinforcing the keel and it was more than the boat was worth back then -- thirty years ago. I would be especially reluctant to fill it with poly foam as that might make any real repair impossible.